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Kerel-pattern assault carrier: Difference between revisions

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|role= *Ship-to-ship combat
|role= *Ship-to-ship combat
*Atmospheric fire support
*Atmospheric fire support
*Command and Control
*Command and control
|era=*[[Halopedia:Timeline|The Great War era]]
|era=*[[Halopedia:Timeline|The Great War era]]
*[[Halopedia:Timeline|Post-war era]]
*[[Halopedia:Timeline|Post-war era]]
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{{Quote|Look at the size of that thing!|[[Edward Buck]] after an assault carrier arrives over New Mombasa.}}
{{Quote|Look at the size of that thing!|[[Edward Buck]] after an assault carrier arrives over New Mombasa.}}


The '''CAS-class assault carrier''' <ref name="visual"/> is a large [[capital ship]] used by the [[Covenant]]. The ''CAS'' is designed for ship-to-ship combat, command and control of fleet operations, and support for ground occupation forces. Such vessels are typically deployed during invasions of worlds with high strategic value.<ref name="DD4">[http://halo.xbox.com/Content/assets/en-us/ONI/489872090930784032/93893-PRELIM.pdf '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Data Drop Four'']</ref>
The '''CAS-class assault carrier'''<ref name="visual"/> is a large [[capital ship]] used by the [[Covenant]]. The ''CAS'' is designed for ship-to-ship combat, command and control of [[Covenant fleet|fleet]] operations, and support for ground occupation forces. Such vessels are typically deployed during invasions of worlds with high strategic value.<ref name="DD4">[http://halo.xbox.com/Content/assets/en-us/ONI/489872090930784032/93893-PRELIM.pdf '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Data Drop Four'']</ref>


==Function==
==Function==
These ships possess an expansive hangar bay, capable of transporting large numbers of [[Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter|Seraph]] fighters, [[Type-52 Troop Carrier|Phantom]] dropships, boarding craft, and large fleets of [[Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle|Ghosts]] and [[Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage|Wraiths]], along with one to two [[Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform|Scarabs]]. In [[2552#November|November 2552]], the UNSC frigates ''[[UNSC Forward Unto Dawn|Forward Unto Dawn]]'' and ''[[UNSC Aegis Fate|Aegis Fate]]'' docked inside the launch bay of ''[[Shadow of Intent]]'', an assault carrier, demonstrating the immense size of the class.<ref name="Floodgate">'''[[Halo 3]]''', [[campaign]] level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref>
These ships possess an expansive [[hangar bay]], capable of transporting large numbers of [[Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter|Seraph]] fighters, [[Type-52 Troop Carrier|Phantom]] dropships, [[Covenant boarding craft|boarding craft]], and large fleets of [[Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle|Ghosts]] and [[Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage|Wraiths]], along with a number of [[Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform|Scarabs]]. In [[2552#November|November 2552]], the UNSC frigates ''[[UNSC Forward Unto Dawn|Forward Unto Dawn]]'' and ''[[UNSC Aegis Fate|Aegis Fate]]'' docked inside the launch bay of ''[[Shadow of Intent]]'', an assault carrier, demonstrating the immense size of the class.<ref name="Floodgate">'''[[Halo 3]]''', [[campaign]] level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref>


Assault carriers are often used as [[flagship]]s, leading [[Covenant fleet]]s into battle. Though designed for planetary combat, they also excel at ship-to-ship combat, possessing multiple [[pulse laser turret|pulse laser]] batteries, [[plasma turret|plasma torpedo]] launchers, and at least one [[energy projector]].<ref name="Cairo">'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Cairo Station (level)|Cairo Station]]''</ref> Along with the larger ''CSO''-class supercarrier, the ''CAS'' is designated a "''Class-Five'' flagship carrier" by the UNSC due to its common use at the center of fleets.<ref name="DD4"/>
Assault carriers are often used as [[flagship]]s, leading [[Covenant fleet]]s into battle. Though designed for planetary combat, they also excel at ship-to-ship combat, possessing multiple [[pulse laser turret|pulse laser]] batteries, [[plasma turret]]s, and at least one [[energy projector]].<ref name="Cairo">'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Cairo Station (level)|Cairo Station]]''</ref> Along with the larger ''CSO''-class supercarrier, the ''CAS'' is designated a "''Class-Five'' flagship carrier" by the UNSC due to its common use at the center of fleets.<ref name="DD4"/>


==Background==
==Background==
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Assault carriers are much larger than {{Class|CCS|battlecruiser}}s and standard {{Class|DDS|carrier}}s; they are more rare and more heavily armed than either of them. They are armed with at least two energy projectors<ref name="Cairo"/><ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''', campaign level ''[[Coastal Highway]]''</ref>, as well as plasma torpedo launchers<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]]''</ref> and pulse lasers.<ref name="Ark">'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]]''</ref> They also possess [[gravity lift]]s, used for ferrying supplies, personnel, and vehicles from the ship and to the planet's surface.<ref name="Metropolis">'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Metropolis]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level ''[[Uplift Reserve (level)|Uplift Reserve]]''</ref>
Assault carriers are much larger than {{Class|CCS|battlecruiser}}s and standard {{Class|DDS|carrier}}s; they are more rare and more heavily armed than either of them. They are armed with at least two energy projectors<ref name="Cairo"/><ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''', campaign level ''[[Coastal Highway]]''</ref>, as well as plasma torpedo launchers<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]]''</ref> and pulse lasers.<ref name="Ark">'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]]''</ref> They also possess [[gravity lift]]s, used for ferrying supplies, personnel, and vehicles from the ship and to the planet's surface.<ref name="Metropolis">'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Metropolis]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', campaign level ''[[Uplift Reserve (level)|Uplift Reserve]]''</ref>


Two such vessels led the [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration]] to [[Earth]], where they engaged the [[UNSC Navy|UNSC]] [[UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet]] in orbit above [[Africa]]. The first one, carrying the Prophet of Regret himself, managed to penetrate Earth's orbital defenses. The second attempted to follow, but was subsequently destroyed by [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN]] [[John-117]].  
Two such vessels led the [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration]] to [[Earth]], where they engaged the [[UNSC Navy|UNSC]] [[UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet]] in orbit above [[Africa]]. The first one, carrying the [[Prophet of Regret]] himself, managed to penetrate Earth's orbital defenses. The second attempted to follow, but was subsequently destroyed by [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN]] [[John-117]].  


The Prophet of Regret's assault carrier fled to slipspace, as the UNSC forces were likely to recapture the city of [[New Mombasa]] with the {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}} following close behind in its slipspace wake, leading human forces to [[Installation 05]].
The Prophet of Regret's assault carrier fled to slipspace, as the UNSC forces were likely to recapture the city of [[New Mombasa]] with the {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}} following close behind in its slipspace wake, leading human forces to [[Installation 05]].
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Another assault carrier, ''[[Shadow of Intent]]'', later became the flagship of the ''[[Fleet of Retribution]]''. 'Vadum, in command of the ship, led his fleet to Earth in pursuit of a surviving [[The Flood|Flood]] [[Unidentified Flood-captured battlecruiser|ship]], arriving in time to [[Glassing|glass]] the infected area of the planet. ''Shadow of Intent'' and its escorting cruisers joined the remnants of the UNSC Home Fleet to launch a joint attack on the Covenant remnant at [[Installation 00]], destroying their fleet and providing a distraction while ground forces engaged the loyalists that had landed on the installation. It later evacuated the UNSC and Sangheili personnel and returned to Earth for a short time before returning to [[Sanghelios]].
Another assault carrier, ''[[Shadow of Intent]]'', later became the flagship of the ''[[Fleet of Retribution]]''. 'Vadum, in command of the ship, led his fleet to Earth in pursuit of a surviving [[The Flood|Flood]] [[Unidentified Flood-captured battlecruiser|ship]], arriving in time to [[Glassing|glass]] the infected area of the planet. ''Shadow of Intent'' and its escorting cruisers joined the remnants of the UNSC Home Fleet to launch a joint attack on the Covenant remnant at [[Installation 00]], destroying their fleet and providing a distraction while ground forces engaged the loyalists that had landed on the installation. It later evacuated the UNSC and Sangheili personnel and returned to Earth for a short time before returning to [[Sanghelios]].


By [[2554]], [[Jul 'Mdama]], a [[shipmaster]] of the [[Covenant remnant]] commanded an assault carrier during his attempts to enter the [[Forerunner]] [[shield world]] [[Requiem]]. [[2557|Three years later]], the assault carrier led a fleet of at least sixteen [[CCS-class battlecruiser]]s.<ref name="terminal">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/Universe/detail/halo-4-terminal-jul-mdama/0f378de5-e0e3-4f31-a1e1-2a363af4094d '''Halo Waypoint:''' ''Halo 4 Terminal: Jul 'Mdama'']</ref>
By [[2554]], [[Jul 'Mdama]], a [[shipmaster]] and leader of the [[Covenant remnant|revived Covenant]] commanded an assault carrier during his attempts to enter the [[Forerunner]] [[shield world]] [[Requiem]]. [[2557|Three years later]], the assault carrier led a fleet of numerous [[CRS-class light cruiser]]s.<ref name="terminal">[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/Universe/detail/halo-4-terminal-jul-mdama/0f378de5-e0e3-4f31-a1e1-2a363af4094d '''Halo Waypoint:''' ''Halo 4 Terminal: Jul 'Mdama'']</ref>


==Armament==  
==Armament==  
[[File:Mombasa Glassing.jpg|thumb|left|200px|A carrier glassing [[New Mombasa]].]]
[[File:Mombasa Glassing.jpg|thumb|left|200px|A carrier glassing [[New Mombasa]].]]


As some of the larger ships in the Covenant fleets are often used as fleet flagships, it is necessary for them to be heavily armed. Assault carriers possess [[energy projector]]s which are powerful enough to cut through UNSC capital ships on its ventral and dorsal surfaces.<ref name="Cairo"/> They also possess multiple [[pulse laser turret]]s, which are used for intercepting enemy missiles and fighters, and [[plasma turret|plasma torpedoes]] for engaging in ship-to-ship combat and assaulting planetary defenses.<ref name="Ark"/>
As some of the larger ships in the Covenant fleets are often used as fleet flagships, it is necessary for them to be heavily armed. Assault carriers possess [[energy projector]]s which are powerful enough to cut through UNSC capital ships on its ventral and dorsal surfaces.<ref name="Cairo"/> They also possess multiple [[pulse laser turret]]s, which are used for intercepting enemy missiles and fighters, and [[plasma turret|plasma torpedoes]] for engaging in ship-to-ship combat and assaulting planetary defenses.<ref name="Ark"/>


Assault carriers are also equipped with at least one [[gravity lift]], capable of dispatching troops, personnel, vehicles and equipment to the surface of a planet rather quickly. They also possess a large main hangar, capable of carrying multiple [[type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter|Seraph multirole fighters]], [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshee attack craft]], [[Type-52 Troop Carrier|Phantom]] and [[Type-28 Troop Carrier|Spirit]] dropships, and [[Covenant boarding craft|boarding craft]], or a UNSC frigate.<ref name="Metropolis"/><ref name="Ark"/> In addition, Assault Carriers possess the ability to launch [[orbital insertion pod|drop pods]], tactically delivering Sangheili warriors into areas without resorting to bulky and obvious dropships.<ref name="Floodgate"/> These ships also carry the dreaded [[Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform|Scarab]] walkers in their holds for quick deployment. Thanks to these innovations, a single assault carrier can easily launch large-scale invasions quickly and effectively.
Assault carriers are also equipped with at least one [[gravity lift]], capable of dispatching troops, personnel, vehicles and equipment to the surface of a planet rather quickly. They also possess a large main hangar, capable of carrying multiple [[type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter|Seraph multirole fighters]], [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshee attack craft]], [[Type-52 Troop Carrier|Phantom]] and [[Type-28 Troop Carrier|Spirit]] dropships, and [[Covenant boarding craft|boarding craft]], or a UNSC frigate.<ref name="Metropolis"/><ref name="Ark"/> In addition, Assault Carriers possess the ability to launch [[orbital insertion pod|drop pods]], tactically delivering Sangheili warriors into areas without resorting to bulky and obvious dropships.<ref name="Floodgate"/> These ships also carry the dreaded [[Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform|Scarab]] walkers in their holds for quick deployment. Thanks to these innovations, a single assault carrier can easily launch large-scale invasions quickly and effectively.
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==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery>
<gallery>
File:H2 Assault Carrier render.png|Front view of the ''CAS''-class Assault Carrier.
File:H2 Assault Carrier render.png|Front view of the ''CAS''-class assault carrier.
File:Overview - Covenant Assault Carrier.png|An overview of the assault carrier.
File:Overview - Covenant Assault Carrier.png|An overview of the assault carrier.
File:Covenant Assault Carrier FanArt.jpg|An assault carrier entering slipspace.
File:Covenant Assault Carrier FanArt.jpg|An assault carrier entering slipspace.
File:Firing Energy Projector.png|An assault carrier firing its dorsal energy projector at [[John-117]] during the [[Battle of Earth]].
File:Firing Energy Projector.png|An assault carrier firing its dorsal energy projector at [[John-117]] during the [[Battle of Earth]].
File:SOEIV Interface.png|''Solemn Penance'' over New Mombasa as seen from [[the Rookie]]'s [[Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIV]].
File:SOEIV Interface.png|''Solemn Penance'' over New Mombasa as seen from the [[Rookie]]'s [[Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIV]].
File:Assault carrier.jpg|The Prophet of Regret's assault carrier hangs ominously in the clouds over [[New Mombasa]].
File:Assault carrier.jpg|The Prophet of Regret's assault carrier hangs ominously in the clouds over [[New Mombasa]].
File:AssaultCarrierOverNewMombasa.jpg|Numerous assault carriers around [[The Portal|portal]] to the [[Installation 00|Ark]] in the [[Halo 3 Announcement Trailer]].
File:AssaultCarrierOverNewMombasa.jpg|Numerous assault carriers around [[Portal at Voi|portal]] to the [[Installation 00|Ark]] in the [[Halo 3 Announcement Trailer|''Halo 3'' announcement trailer]].
File:Image-Acuc.JPG|A forward view of ''Shadow of Intent''.
File:Image-Acuc.JPG|A forward view of ''Shadow of Intent''.
File:Ark3.jpg|A UNSC frigate flying under an assault carrier. Note the size of the carrier's hangar.
File:Ark3.jpg|A UNSC frigate flying under an assault carrier. Note the size of the carrier's hangar.
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File:Covenant Pinch Fusion reactor.jpg|An assault carrier's [[pinch fusion reactor]].
File:Covenant Pinch Fusion reactor.jpg|An assault carrier's [[pinch fusion reactor]].
File:Carrier vs Cruiser.png|An overhead view of an assault carrier and two CCS-class battlecruisers.
File:Carrier vs Cruiser.png|An overhead view of an assault carrier and two CCS-class battlecruisers.
File:Heretic assault carrier.jpg|Carrier escorted by two battlecruisers.
File:Heretic assault carrier.jpg|A carrier escorted by two battlecruisers.
File:H4 Prologue CAS Carrier.jpg|A CAS Carrier as appears in ''[[Halo 4]]'' [[Prologue]].
File:H4 Prologue CAS Carrier.jpg|A CAS-class carrier in the ''[[Halo 4]]'' [[Prologue]].
</gallery>
</gallery>



Revision as of 23:00, June 27, 2013

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Template:Ship Class Infobox

"Look at the size of that thing!"
Edward Buck after an assault carrier arrives over New Mombasa.

The CAS-class assault carrier[1] is a large capital ship used by the Covenant. The CAS is designed for ship-to-ship combat, command and control of fleet operations, and support for ground occupation forces. Such vessels are typically deployed during invasions of worlds with high strategic value.[2]

Function

These ships possess an expansive hangar bay, capable of transporting large numbers of Seraph fighters, Phantom dropships, boarding craft, and large fleets of Ghosts and Wraiths, along with a number of Scarabs. In November 2552, the UNSC frigates Forward Unto Dawn and Aegis Fate docked inside the launch bay of Shadow of Intent, an assault carrier, demonstrating the immense size of the class.[3]

Assault carriers are often used as flagships, leading Covenant fleets into battle. Though designed for planetary combat, they also excel at ship-to-ship combat, possessing multiple pulse laser batteries, plasma turrets, and at least one energy projector.[4] Along with the larger CSO-class supercarrier, the CAS is designated a "Class-Five flagship carrier" by the UNSC due to its common use at the center of fleets.[2]

Background

The massive launch bay of the assault carrier.

Assault carriers are much larger than CCS-class battlecruisers and standard DDS-class carriers; they are more rare and more heavily armed than either of them. They are armed with at least two energy projectors[4][5], as well as plasma torpedo launchers[6] and pulse lasers.[7] They also possess gravity lifts, used for ferrying supplies, personnel, and vehicles from the ship and to the planet's surface.[8][9]

Two such vessels led the Fleet of Sacred Consecration to Earth, where they engaged the UNSC Home Fleet in orbit above Africa. The first one, carrying the Prophet of Regret himself, managed to penetrate Earth's orbital defenses. The second attempted to follow, but was subsequently destroyed by SPARTAN John-117.

The Prophet of Regret's assault carrier fled to slipspace, as the UNSC forces were likely to recapture the city of New Mombasa with the UNSC In Amber Clad following close behind in its slipspace wake, leading human forces to Installation 05.

Another assault carrier, Shadow of Intent, later became the flagship of the Fleet of Retribution. 'Vadum, in command of the ship, led his fleet to Earth in pursuit of a surviving Flood ship, arriving in time to glass the infected area of the planet. Shadow of Intent and its escorting cruisers joined the remnants of the UNSC Home Fleet to launch a joint attack on the Covenant remnant at Installation 00, destroying their fleet and providing a distraction while ground forces engaged the loyalists that had landed on the installation. It later evacuated the UNSC and Sangheili personnel and returned to Earth for a short time before returning to Sanghelios.

By 2554, Jul 'Mdama, a shipmaster and leader of the revived Covenant commanded an assault carrier during his attempts to enter the Forerunner shield world Requiem. Three years later, the assault carrier led a fleet of numerous CRS-class light cruisers.[10]

Armament

A carrier glassing New Mombasa.

As some of the larger ships in the Covenant fleets are often used as fleet flagships, it is necessary for them to be heavily armed. Assault carriers possess energy projectors which are powerful enough to cut through UNSC capital ships on its ventral and dorsal surfaces.[4] They also possess multiple pulse laser turrets, which are used for intercepting enemy missiles and fighters, and plasma torpedoes for engaging in ship-to-ship combat and assaulting planetary defenses.[7]

Assault carriers are also equipped with at least one gravity lift, capable of dispatching troops, personnel, vehicles and equipment to the surface of a planet rather quickly. They also possess a large main hangar, capable of carrying multiple Seraph multirole fighters, Banshee attack craft, Phantom and Spirit dropships, and boarding craft, or a UNSC frigate.[8][7] In addition, Assault Carriers possess the ability to launch drop pods, tactically delivering Sangheili warriors into areas without resorting to bulky and obvious dropships.[3] These ships also carry the dreaded Scarab walkers in their holds for quick deployment. Thanks to these innovations, a single assault carrier can easily launch large-scale invasions quickly and effectively.

Characteristics

File:1207838135 Bridge.jpg
The bridge of an assault carrier.

Assault carriers, like the majority of Covenant ships, are characterized by their bulbous, whale-like front, sleek silhouette and pale white-blue hull. However, they also tend to be characterized by their unique swollen and bulbous "hooked" bow section that is frequently characterized to be similar to the head of a whale and would (theoretically) be a massive weakness as the ship could be blown in half comparatively easily, given its shields were down. Rather than possessing multiple smaller hangar bays, like smaller cruisers, assault carriers use a single, gargantuan hangar bay for storage of fighters, dropships, boarding craft and small capital ships, at least 500 meters long, 320 meters wide and 120 meters high. In Halo 3, however, there is a second hangar bay visible, near the stern of the cruiser, above the main engines. For propulsion, assault carriers rely on large deuterium-tritium pinch fusion reactors, housed in cavernous chambers,[4] which power the ship's vital systems, as well as the three aft-mounted plasma drives that propel the ship, capable of operating in a vacuum or in an atmospheric environment. They also employ non-reactive gravity drives for standard maneuvering and hovering above the surface of a planet, resisting its gravity.

The assault carrier is also fitted with Modular Dispersal Technology, giving it the ability to completely detach sections of its outer hull as well as whole corridors, as seen during the Raid on the Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence. They can also separate into two distinct sections which leaves the rear section (with the main engines) behind and allows the fore-section to move away with previously hidden engines, the fore section, and likely the rear, are still Slipspace-capable. Unlike its unorthodox means of use by the Fleet Master in an attempt to disperse the advancing SPARTAN forces, the dispersal feature is actually intended to be used in order to detach sections of the carrier that sustained extensive damage in order to increase the chances of saving what is left of the ship and its crew for future use.

The UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn was small enough to fit inside Shadow of Intent's hangar. Therefore, it is possible that the assault carrier could carry small Covenant ships, such as a light cruiser.

Known assault carriers

Trivia

  • An early draft of Halo 2 was intended to feature a level tentatively called Covenant ship, in which John-117 would board an assault carrier and destroy it from within.[11]
  • In the modern US Navy, the term "assault carrier" refers to the Amphibious Assault Ship, which is used to transport troops over water and offload them via hovercraft or helicopter.
  • In Halo 2, Regret's carrier has visible structures on the surface above the engines. However, in Halo 3: ODST, these structures are not visible, but are rather obscured or replaced by what seems to be a second hangar bay.
  • In Halo: Reach, assault carriers and supercarriers share the same model in order to save in-game resources. This is why the assault carriers appear to be colored purple in the ending cutscene of the campaign level Long Night of Solace.

Gallery

List of appearances

Sources

  1. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named visual
  2. ^ a b Halo Waypoint, Data Drop Four
  3. ^ a b Halo 3, campaign level Floodgate
  4. ^ a b c d Halo 2, campaign level Cairo Station
  5. ^ Halo 3: ODST, campaign level Coastal Highway
  6. ^ Halo 3, campaign level The Covenant
  7. ^ a b c Halo 3, campaign level The Ark
  8. ^ a b Halo 2, campaign level Metropolis
  9. ^ Halo 3: ODST, campaign level Uplift Reserve
  10. ^ Halo Waypoint: Halo 4 Terminal: Jul 'Mdama
  11. ^ Halo 3 Legendary Edition developer commentary

Template:CovenantShips